Bass Fishing in Canada

Canada has been inhabited thousands of years before Viking settlers from Norway explored it. Inhabitants of the region generally came from Asia, via the Bering Strait, and they became known as the Eskimos from the north and semi-nomadic tribes of St. Lawrence Valley. Fishing in Canada was the original economic food source for the native people in the region. How else can you live in a frozen landscape, but look for something to eat in the waters? That's what the first European settlers did and they began fishing for commerce around 1820 in Lake Eerie. Commercial fishing in Canada increased as modern equipments were invented. Although, today, due to pollution, over-fishing, habitat destruction, and the introduction of invasive species all commercial fishing have been spiraling downward.

What is still so popular, however, is Canadian Bass Fishing. And if you’ve heard someone talk about an event on bass fishing in Canada, they’re most likely talking about Ontario. Why wouldn’t they? The province is home of over a quarter million rivers and lakes. It has the most abundant fishing places in North America since it makes up more than 15% of freshwater in the world, with 144 different kinds of fish. It’s got pike, walleye, muskie, salmon, and of course, bass—the whole enchilada for anglers. There’s so much diversity of fish in Ontario that the province was divided into six categories of angling; and each of these places creates different sets of fishing in Canada. Imagine that. So when we’re talking about bass fishing in Canada, we mean Ontario. It’s the fishing destination slash paradise slash playground of the world.

Canadian Bass Fishing became one of the most popular recreations because the bass is known to jump out of the water and get the bait out from its mouth. Yes, they can do that. A bass fish is one tough customer to catch, which makes bass fishing tournaments one of the most competitive sports for professionals and average folks. The bass just know how to get out of the hook. And so Canadian Bass Fishing is like your own private re-enactment of Captain Ahab versus Moby Dick, if you ever join one.

The way to keep the fish on your line is to keep it on the water as you reel it in. You do this by holding the tip of your fishing rod down toward the water, then pull the bass to the shore as close as possible and then pull them out quick. When they’re on dry land, get the hook out its mouth. The same principle applies when you’re in the boat: Draw the bass near and then scoop them out.

Another added challenge for bass fishing in Canada is choosing what bait to use. There are rooster tails, spider jigs, spinner baits, tube heads, and so on and so forth. The bass likes different kinds of bait, depending on where it’s from. Yes, each lake or river has its specific preference of bait. Now, we’ve mentioned a while ago that there are over a million lakes and rivers in the Ontario region. So just imagine how challenging bass fishing in Canada is. If you’re planning to do a Canadian bass fishing, you have to ask around. Chances are local anglers and stores may give you a tip or two. And you know what? Asking around the community is also part of the experience for adventurous anglers bass fishing in Canada. Now you know why it’s so popular, especially for tourists.

The thing to remember about Canadian bass fishing is that it’s generally catching two kinds of bass: smallmouths and largemouths. Smallmouths are popular in Northern Ontario and they outnumber largemouths 2 to 1.

If you’re one who likes to do Canadian bass fishing in Canada in rocky clear lakes, smallmouths are your thing. They get their name because they’re lower jaw don’t extend past the eye unlike largemouths. Catching a smallmouth is an exciting experience. They don’t give up that easy; they’d jump around relentlessly and would dive down towards the depths to get enough momentum to escape. A light line anglers are in for a battle when encountering a smallmouth.

For smallmouths like leeches and minnows, the best way to get their attention is to lower your bait directly downward. You may wait awhile. But when one does take the bait, be quick to respond and reel it in as fast as possible. A baited small fish alerts others, so you have to be quick to get the bait back into the water to maintain the feeding frenzy. You’ll keep catching smallmouths if you do. Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe are the places to go for smallmouths when bass fishing in Canada

Canadian bass fishing in several lakes in Ontario also have an excellent repertoire of largemouths. Many bass fishing competition prefer largemouths because they’re an exciting fish to catch. They’re aggressive. Although many agree that smallmouths are harder to catch. Catching a largemouth is more for the novelty of it since they’re more rarely seen than smallmouths. Largemouths generally like spinner, tube, buzz baits and shad raps. Minnows and crayfish are good live baits. And you are likely to catch them right in the lily pads, weeds, and around sunken timber, and any rock-, mud- bottom lakes that are shallow and have lots of aquatic vegetation. Canadian bass fishing for largemouths usually head out to Four Mile and Head Lakes.

Bass fishing in Canada is best known as the most competitive bass fishing championships in the world. The Shoal lake Bass classic, a bass fishing tournament held on the first weekend of July, usually crowns its winner with the most smallmouths. In mid-July, bass fishing competitions are held on the English River System in Grassy Narrows, in Shebandowan Lake, in Dogpaw & Flint Lakes, and in Agimak Lake. A bass fishing championship in Fort Frances is one of the largest live release cash bass competitions with over $170,000 in cash prizes. The Kenora Bass International on the 2nd week of August on Lake of the Woods is a bass fishing tournament that has been dominated by largemouth anglers. During Septembers, die-hard bass anglers head out to Basin for Bucks, which is a three-day bass fishing competition in Sioux Narrows. This tournament is known as a father/son event and it’s giving away prices for those fishers with the most catch of the day. Finally, we head on to the north arm of Rainy Lake, Ontario, where LaBelle’s Birch Point Camp Fall Bass Fishing Championship is decided. It’s the last Canadian bass fishing of the year. Come February, when LOWS Annual Live Release Fish Competition open, the bass fishing tournament cycle starts all over again.